A muffled crash broke the quiet on the other end. It sounded like Noah had kicked something.
Bane set his jaw. ‘I’m sorry, there’s no other way. Just go. Lainie will meet you in the cave as soon as she can.’ He paused as we heard another furious outburst. ‘Noah. Don’t hurt yourself. Think. Save your temper for the other side of the Boundary.’ Now he sounded more like a drill sergeant. It was cruel, and yet necessary.
‘Be quick,’ was all Noah replied through gritted teeth.
Somewhere between Tarnagulla and Burkes Flat, Dallmin finally stopped asking us stupid questions. He simply couldn’t comprehend what had happened. He couldn’t grasp the concept that Tessa could be in danger, let alone from another person, but there was no way I could avoid telling him what was going on and I refused to be the first person in all his long years to lie outright to him. At least that meant that when I did try to explain the situation to him, he couldn’t disbelieve me either. The closest concept he had to deception was the harmless sort of trickery we played on each other in Eden. Unfortunately that meant that it took a long time for him to realise we weren’t playing some sort of weird game. It got on my nerves.
When I finally told him I didn’t want to talk anymore, he stared at me for a long moment, and then closed his eyes and didn’t utter another sound for the rest of the trip. Unfortunately, without him distracting me, my brain started flicking between memories and emotions that refused to fit together. My subconscious kept trying to quell the panic by telling me that she was pregnant and so could not possibly be treated as anything other than precious, but I bravely fought to face the truth that this world didn’t always work that way. My sense of reality kept falling over and I repeatedly found myself drifting towards the belief that Dallmin was right and it was all just a game. It was so tempting to switch off, but Tessa and Noah needed me to concentrate.
It was dark when we arrived home and Sergeant Loxwood was waiting in our kitchen. His immaculately pressed uniform matched the seriousness of his thick eyebrows. Other than the additional silver hairs that now spiked out above his ears, he looked exactly the same as he had when he’d interviewed us after Harry had been injured. I got the impression he was the sort of man who crossed his arms a lot and should have had a moustache, but he didn’t.
He had just poured himself a coffee and was handing a cup of tea to Aunt Lily, who looked as if she hadn’t stopped crying all afternoon. I hugged her for a long time even though I was itching to start looking around for Tessa. The sergeant gave Bane a sharp handshake and then turned to Dallmin, who by then was in a sort of stunned daze. Bane introduced him as a visiting friend. The policeman shook his hand too, looking him over dispassionately before turning to me. His voice was deep and solid, and held the sort of authority that Noah’s and mine should have had.
‘Lainie, I’m glad to see you back. I trust you had an interesting time travelling around?’
When he held his hand out for me to shake, I looked at it like it was an electric fence that may or may not be switched on, and then made myself grasp it. Instead of the flood of images I was bracing for, all I got was an intense feeling of curiosity and determination. Serious determination. Stop-at-nothing kind of determination. This man was so focused on finding answers to his questions that there simply wasn’t anything else in his psyche to read. It wasn’t necessarily just Tessa he wanted answers about, either. It was a dangerous thing, and I snatched my hand away a little too quickly. Which was stupid. It wasn’t like he could read me.
I kept my voice calm. ‘I experienced a lot while I was away, thank you, but I am glad to be back home. Or at least I was. Have you discovered anything yet?’ As I passed him his forgotten coffee, I surreptitiously brushed his hand again. I wanted to know everything he knew, or suspected. I wasn’t interested in being kept in the dark in accordance with some official police procedure. As our skin touched, I got a brief vision of him interviewing the four of us, years before, about what had happened to Harry. Questions burned vividly in his mind. What had really happened to Alex Beckinsale? How were we involved? Why had I gone missing for so long and not touched my bank account even once?
I sat down with a bump and silently shouted at myself to stay calm. It was hard when I could hear muffled phrases coming from the officer’s belt radio. Phrases like ‘unit alert’ and ‘Theresa Ashbree, pregnant, age twenty-one’.
The policeman remained standing. ‘It’s clear that Tessa has been taken against her will. My staff have been here all afternoon taking fingerprints and photos, and we have a few avenues to explore. They only left about half an hour ago. I wanted to wait for you because I was hoping to get some more answers. Do you know any reason why anyone would threaten Tessa? What secret is this person trying to get her to reveal?’
A wave of guilt swept over me that was so powerful I felt physically sick, like I’d accidentally swallowed a giant cough lolly. My throat burned, and I couldn’t speak at all, not even to say I didn’t know. Bane said it for me.
‘Tessa doesn’t have enemies. Everyone loves her. I can’t imagine any earthly reason why someone would go to this extreme,’ he said smoothly.
The sergeant looked him directly in the eyes with that little squint that meant he was trying to work out how truthful Bane was being. Bane looked right back at him. I was certain I wouldn’t have been able to pass that test. Looking less than convinced, the policeman turned his attention instead to Aunt Lily.
‘Will Noah be back soon? I need to ask him some questions.’
My wonderful aunt looked only very slightly flustered. ‘He’s still out looking in the state park. Phone reception out there is a bit dodgy, but when I spoke to him last he seemed determined to make sure she’s not out there before we focus on other areas to search. Now that it’s dark, I’m sure he’ll be back soon. I’ll get him to call you as soon as possible.’ For someone who detested lies she could be very good at it.
The officer made a little sound of disapproval with his tongue. ‘All the signs point to the perpetrator leaving with her in a car, and all the tyre tracks at the end of the driveway lead towards town.’
The driveway was gravel and met the sealed road at the front of the property. At such a wet time of year it should have been fairly easy to spot which way the car had turned, unless someone was being very sneaky.
‘I’ve also been in touch with our specialist advisers in Melbourne. They expect that in Tessa’s current state the abductor will be unwilling to hold onto her for very long. She’ll either tell the kidnapper whatever he wants to hear and be brought back, or he’ll find another way to get what he wants. I don’t want you to tell too many people at this stage, unless you have a very good reason. If we decide to let the media assist us then I will let them know what to report. I don’t want journalists pestering you for random bits of information.’
Reality began to overwhelm me as he spoke, and when Bane reached for my hand I tried to focus on the fact that what the policeman was saying made sense. Besides, we couldn’t tell anyone much anyhow.
Aunt Lily stared into her tea as she spoke. ‘I already told her family, and the Ashbrees. They’ve all been here but we sent them home again. They know not to tell anyone else.’
Fingers of steel were gripping mine, and I peered at Bane out of the corner of my eye, trying to appear casual. He was trembling slightly, his face bloodless, and it looked like he was trying hard to stay still. Something had changed.
‘Is there anything we can do to help find her?’ I asked the sergeant. He was an expert. He should have ideas. If not, then we needed him to go away so we could talk freely, and I needed to go and see Noah.
‘I have all available officers working on it. They know what they’re doing. Unless you can think of any other useful information, I suggest you all just stay here and try to remain calm.’ He stood up to leave. ‘I won’t be here tomorrow. I’m heading to Melbourne now to follow up a co
uple of leads. Call me immediately if you think of anything else I should know.’ He turned to me with a wary look that didn’t match his pleasant tone. ‘And Lainie, I’m relieved that you’re home safe.’
Aunt Lily showed him out.
When she came back she was frowning. ‘I don’t understand why he’s leaving town. He’s supposed to be heading up this investigation, isn’t he? Why isn’t he asking someone else to do the travelling? He’s been asking a lot of questions about you, Lainie. When you left we told everyone you were backpacking but he always seemed suspicious. I think he’s trying to find a link between what happened three years ago and what happened today.’
I wished we could confide in him properly so he could help us better, but I was suddenly very apprehensive about telling anyone anything. Someone already clearly knew too much, and it had put Tessa and the baby in terrible danger. I didn’t trust anyone who was not currently in the room or on the other side of the Boundary.
‘Bane, are you okay?’ My aunt had also noticed his demeanour. I thought I knew what the problem was and there was nothing I could do about it. If he was a cat he would have been hissing.
‘Lainie’s in danger,’ he said. ‘I expect the bastard has worked out that Tess won’t talk. Lainie’s his next plan.’
Lily came and hugged me again, her tears wet on my cheek.
‘So what are you thinking?’ I asked Bane as I extricated myself. I would listen first, but I didn’t think I was going to like it.
‘I’m thinking it’s time you took Dallmin home. I’ll help the police find Tessa, and I’ll ask Tim to come down too. You and Noah need to stay in Eden until I’ve done my job.’
I knew I wouldn’t like it. And it wasn’t going to happen.
Dallmin sat down and placed his hands flat on the kitchen table like he wanted to fuse himself to it. ‘I am not ready to go home,’ he stated.
Bane lifted his chin. ‘Dallmin, we don’t have time to arg— Ow! Lainie, you are so mental sometimes!’
I must have looked pretty stupid stomping on my own foot, but it was the only thing I could think of doing to distract Bane enough to cut him off. Dallmin didn’t need to hear the word ‘argue’, let alone experience it. Stomping also helped me to vent my frustration with Bane’s suggestion, a little. I chose to ignore his angry response. My unsteady fingers grabbed the torch from its hook near the door. Noah had been forced to wait too long for us already.
‘Dallmin, perhaps you could help Aunt Lily with the chores tonight? And I’m sure she wants to eat something.’ Tessa had to come first. Convincing Dallmin to leave would have to be handled carefully, and so it was just going to have to wait.
The sword welcomed me with a brightening of its silver glow, not that its glow was easy to focus on amongst flames that were twice as tall as I was. Memories stirred like caged lions as I watched it spin. If I let them out now I would be unable to function, I was certain, so I swallowed them down and let the heat from Bane’s skin melt them away. It only took a few moments for him to heal the new cuts and grazes I had gained by scrambling through the bush in the dark, but I was struggling to remain patient. Noah would know we were here and would be forcing himself to wait for me to cross, because if Tessa was too far away, then even a moment on this side would make her violently ill.
‘Please stay there,’ Bane said when he let me go. ‘I can’t let anything happen to you, and I can’t concentrate on looking for Tessa while you’re in danger.’
It was the best argument he had come up with yet, but it still wasn’t enough. If there was some way I could have swapped places with Tessa, I would have done it in an instant.
‘I’m coming back, Bane. I won’t leave Tessa. I understand you have a job to do, but what’s the point of me if I’m not around to do mine?’
‘Three years away and now you decide this?’
‘Sorry.’
‘Lainie, I really want—’
‘Don’t bother,’ I interrupted. ‘I am well aware of what you want. This is too important for me to just yield to either of our wants,’ I insisted.
He exhaled roughly in capitulation. ‘Ask Noah if he thinks anyone saw either him or Tessa doing anything … unusual in the last three years. Even family.’
Family? Couldn’t we even trust family? My thoughts staggered again, but there was no time to linger. ‘I’ll be back in ten,’ I said, kissing him on the cheek. His skin was burning.
Noah nearly bowled me over the second I stepped across. He looked dreadful.
‘Any news? What did the police say?’
Annie was sitting against the wall of the glittering cavern with her knees tucked up to her chest, watching me. It looked like she had been there for a long time.
‘They’re taking it very seriously. You need to cross back long enough to call Sergeant Loxwood. He’s been waiting to speak with you all afternoon. We told him you were searching in the state park and probably had no reception.’
He slumped down against a sparkly rock formation and rested his elbows on his knees. His phone was in his hands and he was staring at the picture of Tessa on his screen saver. Despite what we’d told the police, the new sat-sleeve actually seemed to work pretty well for getting reception out near the cave, but I was pretty certain that Eden still wouldn’t be accounted for on the satellite relay system. It wasn’t going to ring no matter how hard he stared at it. He was going to have to cross back at regular intervals just to get message updates, and poor Tessa was going to be sick every time he did.
‘Who would have taken her, Lainie? She’s never hurt anyone. No one knows about Eden—we couldn’t have told anyone even if we wanted to.’
I relayed Bane’s question as to whether anyone might have seen them do anything miraculous. His back tensed when I mentioned family and he shook his head. ‘There’s been nothing to see. I haven’t felt any threat to Eden since … since you left, so I’ve been miracle-free.’
Annie looked up sharply. ‘There are more powers than just the big ones.’
That was true. As well as calling storms and moving rocks, we could sense when people were close to Eden, and sense if they were a threat, but a threat to a Guardian was not the same as a threat to the Garden. It was so frustrating. If Noah had been the one in danger, Tessa would have had plenty of warning, not to mention being able to always sense exactly where he was; however, it didn’t work the other way around. They were supposed to protect us. Even I could have found Noah easily, because we were paired Sentinels. Sadly, none of us could find Tessa.
Then all of a sudden it clicked. Annie was right, we did have other powers. ‘Have you met Nayn yet?’ I asked Noah.
‘The other Cherub? No. Annie told me about him when I sensed something odd, but I can’t hang around the others, not while I’m feeling so …’
‘So you felt his presence?’
‘I felt something. It was very hazy. Annie told me we could sense other Cherubim if we concentrated. It wasn’t as clear as sensing you, though.’
‘I’ve met him now, so I can feel him better. I agree, it’s not as clear as being able to find you but I could probably track him down pretty quickly if I really concentrated.’ My feet were starting to itch. I wanted to get on with it.
‘Where are you’re going with all this? We can sense other Cherubim, not our Guardians …’
Annie giggled in the corner just as Noah jumped to his feet. Grabbing me by the elbows he looked full into my face, his eyes lighting up with renewed hope.
‘I can sense the baby,’ I confirmed.
‘She could be hours away, Noah, you can’t come!’ I repeated, shooing him ahead of me across the threshold and back to Paradise like a lost sheep. When he’d called the sergeant, the policeman had told him he had arranged to tap into his phone in case there was a call from either Tessa or her captor. That had sent Noah into a spin since his phone had been ‘out o
f range’ all afternoon. No backlog of messages or missed calls came through, however, except the inevitable ones from Tessa’s parents. He answered their panicked questions as best he could and then Bane had swapped phones with him and practically shoved us both back towards the Event Horizon.
I hoped they wouldn’t try to tap Bane’s phone as well. As it was we would have to find another phone to use to keep Noah updated. Would the speaking embargo work on a tapped phone? The mystical restraint had once cut me off mid-sentence because someone was too close and I hadn’t even realised, but on the phone?
‘I’ll let you know as soon as we find anything,’ I promised him. ‘Somehow.’ A quick hug for Annie and then I turned to head back to Bane, eager to get started. Noah caught my hand.
‘Lainie, please find her quickly. And my son.’ Aqua-coloured eyes blazed with anger and fear.
‘I’ll do everything in my power, Noah. They’re my family too now,’ I said, stepping backwards across the Skin of the World.
Chapter 29
Just outside the cave entrance, the darkness welcomed me back. It was full of bruised eucalyptus and hunger and struggle. Not far away, a tawny frogmouth hooted in a rhythm like a reversing truck, as if it was giving me an ominous countdown.
‘That way,’ I pointed, still with my eyes shut. There was a subtle trace of a whisper. A placid presence, wondrously waiting. It was so faint that it might have just been wishful thinking, but I was learning to trust my instincts.
‘South, maybe south-east. Possibly Melbourne?’ Bane suggested. I could hear the tightness in his voice. There was nothing he could say that would keep me from searching for Tessa, and he knew it. He was doing pretty well to not argue even though I could see the conflict in every line of his body. I nodded and took his hand again because I knew the contact helped to ease the strain on him. It certainly helped me.
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